Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Property Disposal Service, Memphis and American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2501 (Authority decision, December 19, 1986)

Final FLRA decision. The Authority dismisses the union's exceptions to an arbitration award because its national office received them after the deadline. Section 7123(a)(1) excludes Authority orders involving arbitration awards from its ordinary 60-day judicial-review provision unless the order involves an unfair labor practice under § 7118; this decision does not decide one.

Plain-English summary

AFGE Local 2501 mailed exceptions to a Defense Property Disposal Service arbitration award on November 21, 1986. The applicable deadline required receipt at the Authority's national office by November 24. The exceptions arrived November 26. The Authority dismissed them as untimely without reaching the merits.

Decision snapshot

• Authority: Arbitration exceptions deadline under 5 U.S.C. § 7122(b) and 5 C.F.R. § 2425.1.
• Outcome: Union's exceptions dismissed as untimely.
• Key point: Mailing before the deadline did not satisfy the rule requiring timely receipt by the national office.

Full text (FLRA public release)

[ v24 p651 ]

24:0651(65)AR

The decision of the Authority follows:

24 FLRA No. 65

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY, DEFENSE
PROPERTY DISPOSAL SERVICE, DEFENSE
REUTILIZATION AND MARKETING REGION,
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
Agency

and

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO, LOCAL 2501
Union

Case No. O-AR-1271

ORDER DISMISSING EXCEPTIONS

This case is before the Authority on exceptions to the award of Arbitrator J. Reese Johnston, Jr. filed by the Union pursuant to section 7122(a) of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute and section 2425.1 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations. For the reason stated below, it has been determined that the exceptions must be dismissed as untimely filed.

The Arbitrator's award is dated October 20, 1986, and, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, appears to have been served on the parties by mail on the same day.

Under section 7122(b) of the Statute, as amended, /1/ and section 2425.1 of the Authority's Rules and Regulations, as amended, /2/ which amendments are applicable to exceptions pending or filed with the Authority on or after March 2, 1984, and under sections 2429.21 and 2429.22 of the Rules and Regulations, which are also applicable to computation of the time limit here involved, any exceptions to the Arbitrator's award in this case had to be filed, that is, received in the national office of the Authority not later than the close of business on November 24, 1986.

The Union sent the exceptions by certified mail from Memphis, Tennessee on November 21, 1986. However, the exceptions were not received by the Authority at its national office in Washington, D.C., until November 26, 1986, and, therefore, were untimely filed.

Accordingly, as the Union's exceptions were untimely filed, they are hereby dismissed.

For the Authority.

Issued, Washington, D.C., December 19, 1986.
/s/ Harlod D. Kessler
Director of Case Management

--------------- FOOTNOTES$ ---------------

(1) Section 7122(b) of the Statute was amended by the Civil Service Miscellaneous Amendments Act of 1983 (Pub. L. No. 98-224, Section 4, 98 Stat. 47, 48 (1984)) to provide that the 30-day period for filing exceptions to an arbitrator's award begins on the date the award is served on the filing party.

(2) 49 Fed. Reg. 22623 (1984).